Trusted Professionals?

I would like to share with an extract from a case study in the recent Saddle Research Trust newsletter.

“Despite having passed a pre-purchase vetting with flying colours I had been having issues with my recently acquired 8-year-old mare since purchase; primarily napping, grumpiness and showing signs of discomfort being groomed and tacked up, and then progressively difficulty picking up canter in the school. My local equine vet, instructor, and equine physio were not overly concerned with my mare’s behaviour because she looked sound when trotted up, and doing flexion tests etc… my vet thought the horse’s behaviour was most likely her just being a ‘chestnut mare’.”

I hasten to add that the owner then went onto to consult a member of the SRT who helped to resolve the problem!

But it bought home to me that the message in “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?” is so very pertinent. We are living in enlightened times, with unlimited access to knowledge and the opportunity to learn and improve ourselves. The vet mentioned here will have had at minimum 5 years training, plus CPD in the following years, and the best he could come up with was – being a chestnut mare!

We talk about surrounding ourselves with professionals, but they must be good professionals, who are prepared to look beyond what is directly in front of them and to dig a little deeper into helping you resolve the problem. Trust your instinct, if you think there is a problem and your professionals don’t, ask around and get a second opinion. You know your horse, make sure you know your professionals too!

A Weighty Issue...

Here is a thought to keep in mind during the festive season, the season of food, and drink and very little exercise! Are you fit to ride?

There have been various occasions this year when the overweight rider debate has surfaced. We are pleased to hear of the formation of a working group under the chairmanship of the British Equestrian Federation, with support from World Horse Welfare to tackle this issue. The Animal Health Trust and the University of Sunderland are both beginning research that explores the optimum loading levels for horses. We are pleased that this issue is being tackled in a scientific manner, with the highlight being on horse welfare, which, after all, is the most important thing.

A recent study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, suggests that the rider should weigh less than 15% of their horse's body weight. This means a 1500-pound horse should be able to carry a rider of 150 lbs or less. It is not to do with the rider’s weight, it is to do with the relationship between the horse and the rider. Since the increase in food availability since the post-war era, our bodies have been getting bigger, while the horses that we ride have by and large remained the same. This is not a debate about our image obsessed society, but merely an observation about ratios. That of the horse and rider.

However it is worth bearing in mind as you reach for another helping of turkey and potatoes that our weight does affect how we ride. So my festive tip to help keep you and your horse healthy is to dismount from your horse (providing it is safe to do so) half a mile from home and walk the rest of the way. This is will give you an extra walk, and your horse a chance to cool down his back muscles. Happy, healthy horse and rider!

Merry Christmas!

A scientific comparison between the effect of scratching and patting your horse.

A study has been recently carried out to investigate the physiological and behavioural reactions of a ridden horse being scratched or patted.

Being ridden is exciting for horses, and some more than others, become very excited or stressed while they are being ridden. Traditionally riders have patted their horses when riding in order to reassure them or soothe them.

In the recent study 18 horses were given 3 different treatments – nothing, patting or scratching. The horses were monitored for heart rate, heart rate variability and a variety of other factors.

The scratching produced a longer duration of relaxed type of behaviours than either of the other two.

Patting can be a quite invigorating for the horse and is often used to awaken your horse and encourage him, so that would be seem to agree with the results of this study.

So the next time you are riding your horse and he becomes excitable or stressed, try scratching on the withers rather than patting, and see if you get a better calming response.

And let us know!

Thorbergson ZW, e. (2016). Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Horses to Wither Scratching and Patting the Neck When Under Saddle. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26958705/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2016].

Ifor Williams Trailers and their correct uses...

This came up during a recent loading course, and needs to be shared so that the safety features designed by Ifor Williams can be used correctly should they need to be in the event of an emergency.

The front bars should always be done up so that the more curved hook (not the end where you put the pin in) is in the middle of the trailer. This ensures that if you have to quick release the end will actually drop. Make sure you have an Allen key, and that you know where it is kept! They are designed this way so that you can release the bar from the outside in the event of an emergency.

Also the eyes, which have now been put on Ifor Williams trailers, are for releasing the bars in an emergency, not for tying your horse to! If you tie to horse to these they can distort the shape of the trailer and mean that the bars will not drop down in an emergency. Ifor Williams do instruct people not to tie their horses to the outside of the trailer, but as we know, people do.

If you have any queries regarding how to fit your breast bar and how to release it in an emergency, please visit your local Ifor Williams dealer who will be more than happy to show you the correct way. It is better to spend the time familiarising yourself with how to do it, in a calm and relaxed way, than trying to work it out in the moment of panic when you horse is stuck. To find your local Ifor Williams dealer click here.

For problems loading please contact your local IHRA who will help you to resolve your loading issues. For your nearest IHRA click here.

With thanks to Sarah Weston IHRA for this information.

For information on The Buffer Bar, which can be used on your existing bar to give your horse a more comfortable journey, please visit Sarah Weston’s website http://www.logicalhorsemanship.co.uk/?page_id=1130

Five tips for confidence…

Confidence seems somewhat elusive to those who doubt themselves. We have all been there, looking round thinking of all the things that could go wrong and all the ways we could fail, until we render ourselves completely incapable of doing anything!

But confidence is just another skill, and you can learn to do anything. So here are five tips to help you build your confidence.

1)      Be positive. Spending your time thinking “what if my horse spooks?” will not help your confidence. Instead visualise a positive outcome. Rather than visualising your horse spooking, visualise yourself trotting confidently around the corner.

2)      Small steps. If you become nervous in certain situations, break down the situation into bite size chunks. Are you nervous at a show? Break down the day into pieces. Are you nervous of loading your horse, or getting on in a strange place, or maybe even finding your way somewhere you haven’t been before. Once you have broken the day down, you will be able to identify what is causing the nervousness and then work with that area.

3)      Be kind. Don’t be self-critical, be kind to yourself. Remind yourself how far you have come, praise yourself for every step, even if it is simply that you were a little less scared than yesterday, remember to praise yourself!

4)      Set yourself up to succeed. Don’t over face yourself. If you enter a class above your ability and don’t do very well, you will enter into a negative mind-set about it. Why not enter a class below your ability, then you will have a rewarding experience before you start to push yourself.

5)      Breathe. When we are nervous, our muscles tighten and we don’t breathe properly. Our brain requires oxygen to function, you cannot think when you are scared!! Take a deep breathe, and another, and another, and off you go!

For more help with confidence in the saddle, why not take a look at Kelly Mark’s book Perfect Confidence, click here  for more information.

Navigational ultrasound imaging to accurately treat lameness.

A study was carried out using navigational ultrasound imaging, also known as fusion imaging, to be used in real time alongside a previously carried out CT or MRI scan. This was to help with the assessment and treatment of lesions.

17 horses with lameness, caused by either tendon or ligament damage, as seen on a MRI scan, were used in this research. Anatomical registration landmarks were chosen near the site of the lesion, and the ultrasound imaging was used in combination with the previous MRI scan.

The use of the fusion imaging with the MRI scan was found to be highly beneficial in 59% of cases. It was considered to improve the precision of the treatment that was being carried out, thereby, hopefully, making the treatment more effective and less invasive.

Even in the cases were the combined use was not considered to be highly beneficial, it was consider to give extra confidence and useful additional information to the treatment process.

Overall the use of the combined imaging was considered to have a positive effect on the procedure, with no negative consequences arising through its use.

Any research that can aid the treatment of lameness in horses, is of value, and in this case, it seems to have provided us with another tool in our collection for the treatment of lameness in horses.

Lustgarten, M., Redding, W., Schnabel, L., Prange, T. and Seiler, G. (2016). Navigational ultrasound imaging: A novel imaging tool for aiding interventional therapies of equine musculoskeletal injuries. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/evj.12410/full.

Five things to do with your horse when it’s too wet to ride!

Nothing is more miserable than a wet winter’s day with the wind howling and the rain lashing down. The last thing you want to do is ride in it! But if you want to still spend time with your horse and have a stable, or better still a covered yard there are plenty of things that you can do to enjoy spending time with your horse.

1)      Grooming. It sounds fairly basic, but we are always so busy, a groom usually consists of a flick with a brush, a quick hoof pick out and away we go. Take your time. Groom properly and slowly, feel for any lumps, or bumps, or scabs as you go.

2)      Massage. Give your horse a massage. Horses love being massaged and it’s a perfect way to thank them for the time we spend bouncing around on their back! If you are not sure of how to massage, check out our Horse Massage for Horse Owners bundle deal.

3)      Chalk muscles. Draw chalk muscles onto your horse. This is a great way to learn about your horses muscles and to increase your knowledge.

4)      Do some carrot stretches. Doing some stretches with our horses when we cannot ride them keeps their muscles in good working order. Rather like us doing yoga when we haven’t time to get to the gym!

5)      Standing still. Does your horse rush out of the stable door? The ability to stand still at the end of a line is essential. You can practise this to some extent in a stable. Practise standing with your horse on the end of a line while you walk out through the door, remember to think about your body language as you ask him to stand.

For more help on any of the topics raised here, or if you are struggling with your horse’s behaviour, please contact your local IHRA for expert behavioural advice.  http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/recommended-associates/